The BBC says that the Russian foreign ministry has contingency plans for removing 30,000 Russian citizens in Syria.

Albert Kazharov, a member of the Russian Federation Council, has estimated there are 100,000 Russian citizens in Syria, Russia's RT news agency reported.

The news service also reported that a member of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, a newly formed opposition body recognized by the West, recently called Russian citizens in Syria "legitimate targets."

"Russia, like Iran, supports the Assad regime with weapons and ammunition, as well as in the political arena, so the citizens of these countries are legitimate targets for militants in Syria," Haitham al-Maleh, a member of the coalition told RT.­

Russia has been the main ally of Assad since the start of the conflict, using its veto power at the United Nations Security Council to shield Damascus from international sanctions, the Associated Press noted.

Russia, however, raised diplomatic eyebrows last month when Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said publicly that the Syrian government was "progressively losing control" and added that "the victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be excluded."

The foreign ministry later clarified those remarks, insisting that Moscow had not changed its position on Syria and "never will."